I Need A Hero
by superkim111
Summary: Klaroline One-Shot: Some recently revived enemies capture Klaus. Will he be rescued in time? Or is this the Original Hybrid's swan song? Rated T for violence, torture, and swears.


This, my first ever Vampire Diaries and Klaroline fic, is dedicated to my good friend CeCeVolume who loves to torture me with feels. We'll see how she likes it. Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Diaries, its characters, or the song 'Holding Out for a Hero'. They all belong to their respective creators and companies. Seriously, I'm just a fan girl.

* * *

_Where have all the good men gone_  
_And where are all the gods?_  
_Where's the street-wise Hercules_  
_To fight the rising odds?_  
_Isn't there a white knight upon a fiery steed?_  
_Late at night I toss and I turn and I dream of what I need_

Klaus's eyes fluttered open and a soft groan slipped from between his lips. What the hell had happened? Last he remembered he was packing his bags after the Salvatores' plan to stop Silas's ritual had failed spectacularly. With the Other Side destroyed he had plenty of old enemies walking about and he didn't plan on waiting for them to make a play. Except it seemed that they had moved quicker than he had anticipated.

"Look who's awake," a voice said off to his left. It was then that he realized five very important things. One, his neck was sore in a way that could only be caused by it being snapped like a twig. Two, he was no longer wearing his shirt or jacket. Three, he was currently surrounded by various vampires he'd offed in the past. Four, vervain-soaked ropes were keeping him tied to a metal chair that seemed to be bolted into the floor. And five, someone'd had the audacity to muzzle him. A smart choice considering one bite from him could kill them all but nonetheless infuriating.

"Hope I didn't keep you waiting. Long time no see," the hybrid said with a grin. Since his neck was the only thing that was bothering him it was safe to assume that they hadn't gotten around to torturing him yet. But he was sure that there would be torture at some point. Why else go to all this trouble? Admittedly he hadn't expected quite so many of them to team up. He could count at least twenty vampires in the room with him if not more. That would make escaping a bit trickier.

"Far too long. But that doesn't matter now. We've got you right where we want you Klaus. We've been looking forward to this day. Some of us for centuries," gloated a vampire off to his right. He remembered him. When he'd set up shop in England the vampire had tried to raise an army against him. He'd failed of course and was made into an example that no one soon forgot. Apparently the man was still a bit sore about the whole thing.

"I don't suppose there's any use in trying to talk you all out of this," Klaus ventured as he gave his bonds an experimental tug. Unfortunately it seemed that they'd gotten their hands on some good rope. How was he going to get out of this then? Even if someone realized he was in trouble, and he sincerely doubted that anyone would, who knows how long it would take them to find him. No, he was on his own. Again.

"Not really. But enough talking. We didn't go to all this trouble just to stand around. Let's get started," stated the first voice, eliciting cheers from his companions who eagerly stepped forward.

'And so it begins.'

_I need a hero_  
_I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night_  
_He's gotta be strong_  
_And he's gotta be fast_  
_And he's gotta be fresh from the fight_  
_I need a hero_  
_I'm holding out for a hero 'til the morning light_  
_He's gotta be sure_  
_And it's gotta be soon_  
_And he's gotta be larger than life_

Klaus grit his teeth as yet another stake was shoved into his stomach. For a group with a collective life experience spanning centuries they certainly weren't a very creative lot. All stabbing and punching with the occasional kick thrown in to mix things up. Where was the finesse? Then again considering he was the one they were torturing he probably shouldn't be complaining.

"Come on Nicky, give us a scream. You were so chatty before," taunted one of the many vampires getting their pound of flesh. He couldn't quite place this one. Either he'd locked him in a burning building in France for daring to mock him or he'd ripped his heart out in Germany for abusing a horse. He killed so many people it was sometimes hard to keep the faces straight.

"What can I say? I'm a fickle man," the hybrid replied with a tight-lipped smile. He'd sooner draw for the Simpsons than give them the satisfaction of a scream. He just had to bide his time and wait for an opening. Sooner or later one of them would slip up and that was when he'd strike.

"Well we know how to fix that, don't we gentlemen," asked another of his tormentors and this one he did recognize. He'd staked him in Greece for getting handsy with Rebekah. He could still remember the look on her face when she found that he'd beaten her to it. He'd gotten the silent treatment for nearly a month over that one. But Klaus was dragged out of his thoughts by the scent coming from a rather large bottle that the afore-mentioned vampire had seemingly pulled out of nowhere. More vervain. Wonderful. However he couldn't see how that related to the previous statem-oh. Oh fuck.

"Tilt back his head and open his mouth the best you can boys. Just don't get near his teeth," chuckled a third vampire. This time the hybrid didn't care to reminisce. He was too busy trying to ward off the pairs of hands suddenly groping at his face. But a few of them got solid grips on his hair and he could only do so much to ward away the ones prodding at his mouth. Soon enough he was exactly where they wanted him to be. And if looks could kill there wouldn't be a living undead being in the room.

"Say ah."

He choked and gasped as vervain was poured through the holes in his muzzle into his mouth. He knew that what he was doing was only making it worse but not even he could fight a natural reaction. It burned. Already he could feel his lips and mouth beginning to blister. And it only got worse as it traveled down his throat. A searing pain that slid into his stomach and made his back arch off the chair. He'd been wrong about the torture. He'd been so, so wrong.

"Look at 'im go!"

"Scream for us Klaus!"

"Scream!

But he couldn't. Not anymore.

_Up where the mountains meet the heavens above  
Out where the lightning splits the sea  
I could swear that there's someone somewhere  
Watching me_

_Through the wind and the chill and the rain_  
_And the storm and the flood_  
_I can feel his approach_  
_Like the fire in my blood_

All of a sudden there was a loud crash, a bright light, and screams of pain. The vervain bottle and the hands that had been holding him fell away and Klaus lurched forward as he vomited out the vervain. It stung as much going out as it did in but at least this way it was no longer inside of him. Around him he could hear the sounds of battle but with eyes shut tight and dry heaves wracking his body he didn't know who was fighting who. At least not until the room fell silent and a voice like bells called his name.

"Klaus?"

"Caroline," the hybrid rasped as his eyes flew open. Walking towards him with blood on her clothes and corpses at her feet was his very own avenging angel. It suited her well.

"It's okay, I'm going to get you out of here," Caroline said soothingly, caressing his face before reaching for the ropes that had dug into his skin with his thrashing.

"Wait," he choked out," Vervain. On the ropes."

"Don't worry. I'm wearing gloves," she said with a small smile as she wiggled her fingers at him. She was. Smart girl. Damon Salvatore didn't give her near enough credit. Of course just because the ropes didn't hurt her didn't mean they weren't extremely painful for him. By the time she'd freed him it was all he could do to make sure he collapsed into her waiting arms and not the puddle of toxic vomit on the floor in front of him. For the first time though he took a close look at the dead vampires around them. The ones that he remembered being behind him had stakes jabbed into their hearts but the rest seemed to be filled with copious amounts of shrapnel. Some kind of grenade? It would explain the blast.

"My car's not too far from here and I have blood bags in a cooler in my trunk. Do you think you can walk," Caroline asked as she took in his various injuries. Burns on his mouth, ankle and wrist muscles visible, gashes and stomach wounds, he was aware that he didn't look his best. He almost shuddered to think of what his internal injuries looked like. But he still gave Caroline a nod and after she shifted her grip so that her arm was around his waist and his arm was around her shoulder they started to move.

Their pace was frustratingly slow. The journey from what turned out to be an abandoned bunker in the middle of a forest to the road where Caroline was parked took an hour where it should have taken only minutes. Even then Klaus was covered in sweat and letting out ragged gasps by the time he was lowered into the young vampire's passenger seat.

"Be right back," she said before fetching several blood bags from her trunk and handing them over to him. Usually the hybrid would have displayed more manners but he was hurt and hungry and as such focused only as drinking as much blood as he could as quickly as possible. Caroline had seen him do worse before and he was careful not to ruin her upholstery. A few minutes and another blood bag trip later and Klaus was already improving. The blood had soothed the burns in his mouth and throat and stomach almost immediately after it touched them and some of his smaller wounds were beginning to close up as well.

"Sorry I don't have a shirt. I didn't think to bring you a change of clothes," Caroline apologized, getting into the front seat and starting up the car as he leaned back and made himself comfortable.

"You certainly thought of everything else though," Klaus remarked in a voice a bit softer than usual. His throat may be healing but it was still sore.

"Yeah well I have some experience with these things," she replied as she began to drive them in what he presumed was the direction of Mystic Falls. And he knew she was right. He'd done his research when he came to town and had learned of Caroline's unfortunate habit of being kidnapped and tortured. It was part of the reason he so enjoyed tormenting Damon Salvatore and presumably would for the rest of his long existence.

"How did you find me," he asked curiously.

"I was coming to see you before you left but when I pulled into the driveway this huge black van pulled out. Since that's like the most stereotypical bad guy vehicle ever I ran inside and your room was a huge mess. So I put two and two together and called up my mom so she could run the van's plates. I picked up some things from the Salvatore house and when my mom called and said the van had been seen heading this way I came out and started searching. Then I found the bunker and you already know the rest," Caroline explained with a hint of pride in her voice. That was good. She should be proud of herself for proving so capable. However...

"I don't suppose it occurred to you to call in some back-up? I'd hate to think of what could have happened if you'd been over-powered," Klaus stated in a way he hoped wouldn't come off as insulting. Now that he was doing better she might do something rash if angered. Like leave him to walk home.

"No offense but I couldn't see any of my friends putting everything aside to rush to your rescue. And I don't even know how to get a hold of Rebekah or Elijah," she replied, momentarily taking her eyes off the road to give him a pointed look.

"I'll give their numbers to you later. Bekah will be thrilled. But tell me, was one of the things you stole from the Salvatores a vervain grenade," the hybrid inquired, hoping to confirm that the theory he'd developed was true.

"I didn't steal it. I just...borrowed it," Caroline corrected him with a blush.

"Hate to break it to you sweetheart but it's hard to return something that's scattered into a million pieces," Klaus teased with a grin.

"Shut up! I saved you so you don't get to criticize me for like a week at least," Caroline protested. He could see that she wasn't actually mad at him though. She didn't have that look on her face.

"My apologies. You are a wise and resourceful creature who can do no wrong," he said in a tone gently laced with sincerity.

"Now that's more like it," she proclaimed with a grin of her own, "And as a reward for my awesome rescue you will buy me dinner at the Grill tonight. After we get you a shirt."

Klaus grinned even wider.

"It would be my pleasure."

_I need a hero. I'm holding out for a hero 'til the end of the night._


End file.
